


Brush Pass

by quarterleigh



Series: Bingo Fest [3]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 17:51:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16289102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quarterleigh/pseuds/quarterleigh
Summary: "Dan feels Phil before he sees him.  A slight bump at his shoulder, a whiff of cologne, and a slip of paper sliding in between Dan’s index and middle finger."Dan and Phil are spies. Occasionally they have to exchange government secrets.





	Brush Pass

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick one for the bingo fest! This was for the prompt 'spies' and I went... pretty literal with it.

Dan feels Phil before he sees him. A slight bump at his shoulder, a whiff of cologne, and a slip of paper sliding in between Dan’s index and middle finger. And then, just as quickly, Phil is passing him, getting lost in the rush of early morning commuters. He’s in Dan’s sight for all of two seconds. Dan sighs, trying to hold on to the feeling of Phil’s fingers grazing over his hand. When the tingles fade, he tucks the paper into his inside jacket pocket and steps off the train.

.

They’ve been at this for four years. Trading information covertly, passing government secrets from agency to agency. In that time they’ve become masters of the brush pass. It’s an old method, but in the age of hackers and 4chan, the only way to guarantee the absence of a paper trail is, ironically, paper. And the only way to make sure that paper gets into the right hands is to put it there yourself.

So they meet every few weeks. Always in the daytime, in a crowd, where their brief contact will go unnoticed by surveillance cameras. They never speak, and they never make eye contact. Dan has never heard Phil’s voice.

But they’re in love.

.

They had begun communicating through a hidden forum, deep in the bowels of the internet. They used code words and screen names; their posts self-deleted after thirty minutes. It was strictly business. And then one day, Phil texted him. _U need to make ur phone number untraceable if we’re going to be working together_ , he had said. There had been a winking emoji. It was so out of character for a spy that Dan had laughed out loud. He couldn’t remember the last time he had worked with someone who had any personality.

Their friendship came on quickly after that. They leave the business on the forums and text about everything else. They text so frequently that Dan doesn’t even like to order dinner without getting Phil’s opinion first. _Pizza or Sushi?_ (The answer is usually ‘both’.)

They never make any actual phone calls. _Too risky_ , Dan had texted when Phil asked if he wanted to FaceTime. It was a bullshit excuse, and Phil was nice enough to not point out that texting was arguably more dangerous. The truth is, Phil scares the shit out of him. Dan is an exceptional spy, and a large part of that has to do with his ability to pass through life without making any deep connections. He doesn’t have any loved ones, and no one loves him. _It’s better this way_ , he tells himself when he feels his heart start to bleed from the loneliness. _I’m helping to keep the nation safe. That’s better than loving someone and losing them to gang violence or terrorism or fucking mafia bosses._

So, he never wanted to fall in love with Phil. He did it anyway. He fell in love with his stupid jokes, with the way he gets excited about the small things. He fell in love with Phil’s empathy and profound kindness. He fell in love with the way Phil sometimes has the smallest, softest smile on his face when they pass in public.

.

Phil tells Dan he loves him sometimes. He’s not afraid. He does it in the early morning, when Dan can pretend he’s asleep, even though they both know he’s not. _You don’t have to answer. Just wanted to tell you I love you._ Or _Thinking about you tonight. And every night. You don’t have to answer._ Or sometimes _I wish we could be happy. Don’t answer._

.

It only gets harder. Every time they pass, Dan wants to pull him close, to bury his face in Phil’s neck and wrap his arms around those broad shoulders. He can hardly wank anymore, gets too distracted with fantasies of just falling asleep on Phil’s chest.

.

One day, in a burst of frustrated pining, he buys two tickets for a matinee and slips one to Phil, tucked inside an envelope full of top secret information.

They sit next to each other in the dark. It’s a crowded showing, Dan has made sure of it. They arrived separately, and no one would assume they were together. When the music swells and the main characters kiss for the first time, he grabs Phil’s hand and squeezes. He thinks he hears Phil gasp, but the film is loud and Phil is not.

Phil squeezes back. Their fingers intertwine, and Dan isn’t scared.  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, comments and [reblogs](https://floralleigh.tumblr.com/post/179028045136/brush-pass) are always appreciated! :D


End file.
